Next to the bar, Bai FeiChen and Mu ZhenYu were having a good time chatting with each other. It didn't take long when a few other wealthy elites joined in and the few of them formed a small circle. Xu WanZhi wasn't able to chime in at all.
Foxes could handle cold weather but were afraid of heat. And it was easy for them to have heat strokes in the summertime.
The air conditioning was running at the venue, and whilst the temperature might be fine for humans, it was still very uncomfortable for Xu WanZhi – she could barely maintain the smile on her face.
It was too hot…
Normally, she would be able to use a spell to keep herself cool, but with Mu ZhenYu by her side, she wasn't able to use any of her magic. It didn't take long before she was exhausted.
A little while longer, it was finally time to cut the cake. She took the opportunity when the venue was dimmed to sneak outside with her head lowered. She ran far enough from him before she downed three glasses of chill wine in succession.
She felt much better.
"Miss Xu." A young man's voice came from behind her and sounded a bit unfamiliar.
Xu WanZhi turned around and saw a tall and skinny bespectacled man walking toward her. The man was clean cut and cultured-looking. He looked somewhat familiar. Xu WanZhi thought about it for a little bit and finally found his name from the original owner's memory – Shen Yi.
The male lead in "Blossoming Us" whom she has yet to meet.
The Shen's had been businessmen for generations and have high net worth. They were true magnates. When the original owner first became an actress, she had played the role of an extra in a TV show that he has invested in. From what she could recall, she happened to sit across from him. Back then, her status was so low that she was made to drink a lot, and she finally blacked out and had no idea how she had gotten back to the hotel.
When she signed the contract for "The Blossoming Us" two days ago, she saw Shen Yi's name under male lead. Xiao Yuan was even gossiping with her at the time and told her that he was the single child at home but absolutely refused to succeed in the family business and wanted to join the entertainment circle instead. He was your textbook case of I-will-go-back-home-to-inherit-my-billions-of-dollars-if-I-failed type of person.
Shen Yi walked over to her at a moderate speed and reached out his right hand to her. "I thought I saw you earlier in the crowd but wasn't entirely sure. Now that I am looking at you up close, it was you. Miss Xu, long time no see. You are… even prettier than when I last saw you."
Xu WanZhi shook his hand and said to him politely, "What a coincidence. I didn't see you on the set but ran into you here."
Shen Yi looked closely at her for a little bit. There was a little curiosity and some awkwardness in his look. After a little while, he smiled nonchalantly and said, "Sadly, I am only attending Third Young Master Bai's birthday banquet for my dad, not as an actor."
Xu WanZhi hadn't expected him to make fun of himself so bluntly. Her lips curved and she said to him, "Same here. I am only here as Mr. Mu's companion. But with your ability, you just might be here as Shen Yi, the film emperor, on Mr. Bai's next birthday."
"Miss Xu is still so good with her words," said Shen Yi.
Xu WanZhi smiled. "Isn't everyone in our line of business?"
Shen Yi was so amused that he had a big smile on him.
Inside the venue, the main events of cake-cutting and toasting were already over. Bai FeiChen and Mu ZhenYu walked over to a corner. As the two of them enjoyed the delicacies, Bai FeiChen teased, "Miss Xu is even cuter than when I last saw her. You have a good eye."
Mu ZhenYu snickered as if he didn't care. "Just luck."
"Luck? That's easy for you to say." Bai FeiChen casted him a glance and bluntly poked in his words. "That dress that she is wearing costs at least 3 million yuan. Same amount as the award money from last week's 'Conquer the Second Highest Mountain in The World" competition."
Mu ZhenYu smiled and pointed out the luxurious decorations at the venue. "3 million yuan is but the tip of an iceberg compared to this banquet. It is, however, astronomical for someone whose company had just gone bankrupt. Of course I'd need to work for that."
"Oh, stop it already. You are playing too much into the role. Don't you think I know what's really going on with you?" Bai FeiChen gave his shoulder a gentle pat and the teasing smile lightened some. "Is that little girl worthy of the magnificent Boss Mu rolling up his own sleeve and working?"
Xu WanZhi looked at the well beaten man lying on the ground. At this very moment, she could clearly sense the villain aura radiated from Mu ZhenYu.
The chubby man struggled up and wanted to explain something, but was kicked back down mercilessly by one of the bodyguards.
"Didn't I say it clearly that I don't want to see any of his men near me?" Mu ZhenYu's deep voice, mixed with the cigarette smoke, seemed even duller and more ruthless. "The old man let you follow me all the way here. I guess he didn't plan on your safe return?"
He flicked his cigarette butt accurately at the man's wound before he stepped on it forcefully. The man shuddered his fat body and moaned in pain.
Xu WanZhi knew that "the old man" that Mu ZhenYu was referring to must be Mu XueLin, his father.
The two of them were more like archnemesis than father and son, but nothing was mentioned in the original novel as to why that was.
She also knew that the entire Mu's, except for Mu ZhenYu, were currently in New Zealand.
She could gather from their conversation that the man who was beaten up was sent by Mu XueLin, presumably to surveil Mu ZhenYu while they were away.
Xu WanZhi didn't want to get involved with his family matters and was about to turn around and leave when he heard Mu ZhenYu asking him in a deep voice, "Speak. Where is Xu WanZhi?"
She stopped in her way and turned back around to look at him.
The man laying on the ground shook his head violently.
"Where did you take her?" Mu ZhenYu increased the pressure on his leg. Bead-size sweat poured down the chubby man's forehead. "If anything happens to her, I will kill your entire family."